Purple Martins nest in colonies of twenty or more pairs. There are Purple Martin bird houses available to accommodate this type of nesting habit. They look like small hotels and can accommodate a large number of nesting pairs. In eastern North America Purple Martins nest in these artificial nesting boxes exclusively.

Purple Martins were favored by the Naive Americans who attracted them by hanging up a collection of hollowed gourds. They liked them as they drove off vultures from hides and meat left out to dry and crows from their cornfields.

A myth started many years ago by a manufacturer of Purple Martin houses was that Purple Martins could eat 2000 mosquitoes a day. Purple Martins do not like mosquitoes and rarely eat them!

Purple Martins houses should be placed in an open area well away from any buildings and at least ten feet off the ground. It is best to open up your Purple Martin house four weeks after they arrive in your area and keep it open through the summer until the end of June. If you had Purple Martins in your house the previous year open it up as soon as you see Purple Martins perching around your yard.

White is a good colour for your Purple Martin house as it attracts them and will also keep the inside cool during the hot weather. Sparrows and starlings can be a nuisance by nesting in the houses. If this happens remove their nesting material. Continue to remove it until they become discouraged and nest elsewhere.

Image by thumeco

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In North America we have three species of bluebirds, Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebirds and Mountain Bluebirds. Eastern Blue birds are found on the Great Plain, Western Bluebirds west of the Great Plain and Mountain Bluebirds in areas that are more than 5,000 feet above sealevel in the Western parts of the country.

Bluebirds have bright colours and a cheery song and are great favorites with birders. Populations of Bluebirds declined during the last century, being ousted from their nesting spots by sparrows and starlings.

Different groups of bird lovers have instituted various means to encourage the nesting and breeding of Bluebirds. In Missouri in the 1950’s the people made a National Bluebird Trail with over 6000 Bluebirds boxes

The North American Bluebird Society was formed in 1978 by Larry Zeleny to promote the recovery of Bluebirds.

To help Bluebirds you can set up you’re own Bluebird Trail by erecting a series of nest boxes. The perfect Bluebird house has been specified by the North American Bluebird Society and you could build your own or buy a commercially made Bluebird box.

The best place for your Bluebird Trail is a rural area with sparse ground cover and scattered trees. There should be perch sites such as wires, tree branches or fences to allow the Bluebirds to perch while searching for food.

Areas suitable for a Bluebird Trail are remote areas of parks and golf courses or cemeteries as long as pesticides haven’t been used. You should avoid heavily wooded or areas with a lot of brush. Bluebird boxes should be place 150 yards apart and be between four and six feet above ground.

Image by Aim and shoot!

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This page sets forth the site terms and privacy policies of Best Garden Bird Houses.

I. LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Best Garden Bird Houses has relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads and links on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to Best Garden Bird Houses, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address, and clickstream information.

Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are moving from Best Garden Bird Houses to another Web site. We encourage you to read the site terms and privacy statements of these linked sites as their site terms and privacy policies may differ from ours.

II. ORDERS

If you purchase a product from one of the companies Best Garden Bird Houses represents, they will request certain personally identifiable information from you on their order form. You must provide contact information (such as name, email, and shipping address) and financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date). Best Garden Bird Houses is not responsible for the site terms or privacy policies of such other sites so review their site terms and privacy policy before completing your order.

III. REGISTRATION FOR NEWSLETTER

If Best Garden Bird Houses offers a newsletter then registration is required with Best Garden Bird Houses, such as name and email address. We use this information to contact you about the services on our site in which you have expressed interest. We will never share this information unless required to do so by law enforcement agencies, as stated below in our privacy policy.

Privacy Policy

CONSUMER PRIVACY

I. INFORMATION WE COLLECT: INDIVIDUAL INTERNET CONSUMERS

A. Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
Under no circumstances does Best Garden Bird Houses request or collect sensitive PII such as an Internet user’s medical/health conditions; racial or ethnic origin; political, religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations; trade union membership or sex life.

B. Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non-PII).
When a consumer responds to or views an Internet advertisement served by Best Garden Bird Houses (such as through third-party Web sites or email solicitation) or visits an advertiser’s web site, we send a cookie and/or gif file (”Cookies”) to assign an anonymous, unique identifier to the end user’s Internet browser. Cookies are small data files commonly used on the Internet to help optimize and personalize the Internet end user experience and identify repeat visitors to Web sites.

Best Garden Bird Houses uses Cookies to obtain information about the preferences of consumers and the services they select; and also to optimize and personalize the Internet user’s experience. If the Internet user re-visits the advertiser’s site directly, Best Garden Bird Houses is able to continue to track the user’s activities.

Like most standard Web site servers, we use log files to collect Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, and date/time stamp. We use the information to analyze site usage, administer the site, understand usage and navigation trends in aggregate, and determine the relevance of content. This information, however, is not linked to any personally identifiable information.

We also may use Internet browsing and online purchase data associated with an anonymous identifier to develop a predictive statistical user profile of the end user’s needs and interests. Best Garden Bird Houses does not use Cookies or log files to collect end users’ names, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, or any other information which can be used to identify a specific person. We may match the IP address and user profile with email address data obtained separately in order to better target campaigns to meet user’s interests, but will not share this information with third parties.

Best Garden Bird Houses has relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads and links on our Web pages. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are moving to another web site. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites as their privacy policies may differ from ours.

Some of these other companies may use marketing technology that allows advertisers to add non-personally-identifying demographic information, such as age, gender, area code, or ZIP code, to the non-identifiable profile data. Thus, there is no direct connection between an end user’s online choices and his or her personal identity.

In some cases, Best Garden Bird Houses receives and records partial email addresses of Internet users, only in circumstances where the user voluntarily provided its identity and contact information through the Advertiser’s site or third-party marketer’s site. This partial email address does not enable Best Garden Bird Houses to personally identify an Internet User nor is it shared, sold, rented, or given away.

II. INFORMATION SHARING

Best Garden Bird Houses may release account and any other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to respond to a subpoena or otherwise comply with the law; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Best Garden Bird Houses or others. This may include exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection.

III. CONSUMER CHOICE AND ACCESS

A. Opting Out.
Some Cookies have an “opt-out” option. This process does not remove Best Garden Bird Houses’s Cookie from your system; it simply replaces it with an opt-out Cookie that does not contain any unique identifiers. If Best Garden Bird Houses provides such a process it is detailed below.

Some of Best Garden Bird Houses’s Cookies do not have an “opt-out” option, yet you still have the option of blocking the use of Cookies by changing a setting in your Internet browser. Please see your browser supplier’s Web site for details on how to do this.

Best Garden Bird Houses does not maintain a process for an individual consumer to opt-out of Best Garden Bird Houses’s Cookies.

B. Accessing Consumer Information.
Because they are not directed towards individual Internet users, most sites do not maintain a process for an individual consumer to review and/or request changes to any PII collected.

Except as provided below, Best Garden Bird Houses does not maintain a process for an individual consumer to access his/her PII.

IV. SECURITY

Best Garden Bird Houses employs industry standard security measures to ensure the security of all data. Any data that is stored on Best Garden Bird Houses’s servers is treated as proprietary and confidential and is not available to the public. Best Garden Bird Houses allows access to this data only to those employees or third parties who have a need to know such information for the purpose of effectively delivering Best Garden Bird Houses’s products and services by means of user login and password requirements.

No transmission of data over the Internet is guaranteed to be completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under the control of Best Garden Bird Houses to intercept or access transmissions or private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect your PII, Best Garden Bird Houses cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. You acknowledge and assume this risk when communicating with Best Garden Bird Houses.

V. CONSENT AND CHANGES

Best Garden Bird Houses may find it necessary or be legally obligated to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post those changes on this page and update the effective date so that you are always aware of the information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. Except as otherwise required by law, modifications to this Privacy Policy will not affect the privacy of data collected by Best Garden Bird Houses prior to the effective date of the policy change.

VI. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY AND SPAM

Best Garden Bird Houses is very sensitive to the issue of children’s privacy and makes every effort to protect the privacy of children using the Internet. It is possible that Best Garden Bird Houses’s Web site, products, and services may may not be appropriate for or directed at children. Children (persons under the age of 18) are not eligible to do business with us and we do not collect personal information from any person we actually know is under the age of 13.

Best Garden Bird Houses is committed to proper Internet practices and full compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. § 7701). It is our policy to prohibit the sending of unsolicited or “Spam” e-mail by Best Garden Bird Houses or any of our marketing partners.

Please note that under the CAN-SPAM Act, an advertiser is required to provide an opt-out mechanism for consumers to unsubscribe from future emails about the advertiser. Although not required to by law, many email marketers also include an opt-out mechanism to enable consumers to be removed from their mailing list. This has caused some confusion for consumers in opting out. The table below clarifies which opt-out mechanism you should use for commercial emails.

VII. DATA PROCESSING/SAFE HARBOR

The European Union (”EU”) maintains strict privacy laws. These rules differ significantly from US laws. To reconcile these differences, the US and the EU have created a Safe Harbor that defines mutually acceptable privacy operations. Best Garden Bird Houses adheres to the Safe Harbor principals. For more information see www.export.gov/safeharbor.

VIII. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, THIRD PARTY INFORMATION & LANGUAGE

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE OVER PRIVACY IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR SITE TERMS (INCLUDING LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES, AND ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES). YOU AGREE THAT Best Garden Bird Houses’ LIABILITY FOR ANY BREACH OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE VALUE OF THE TRANSACTIONS OR SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY Best Garden Bird Houses OR $250 TO THE EXTENT SUCH CLAIM IS NOT OTHERWISE BARRED BY OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS. You also agree that you have provided notice to, and obtained consent from, any third party individuals whose personal data you supply to Best Garden Bird Houses with regard to: (a) the purposes for which such third party’s personal data has been collected; (b) the intended recipients or categories of recipients of the third party’s personal data; (c) which of the third party’s data are obligatory and which data, if any, are voluntary; and (d) how the third party can access and, if necessary, rectify the data held about them. It is the express will of the parties that this agreement and all related documents have been drawn up in English.

CONTACT US
For more information or if you have questions or concerns regarding Best Garden Bird Houses’ site terms or privacy policy, please CONTACT US.

Updated February 11, 2008

]]> http://www.garden-birdhouses.com/2008/10/25/privacy-policy/feed/ http://www.garden-birdhouses.com/2008/10/25/about-best-garden-bird-houses/ http://www.garden-birdhouses.com/2008/10/25/about-best-garden-bird-houses/#comments Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:06:17 +0000 janetra http://www.garden-birdhouses.com/?p=68 Best Garden Bird Houses has been set up to provide you with an easy way to find bargains in all kinds of garden bird houses from the best manufacturers. We find the best deals on wood bird houses, copper bird houses, purple martin bird houses, Victorian bird houses, unique bird houses and many more. We hope to make it easier to find just what you are looking for. We are what is called an affiliate site. If you make a sale by visiting our site you will pay exactly the same as if you had gone directly to the store but they will pay us a small percentage of any of those sales in commission.

It is also safe to make a purchase. As you are dealing directly with the store you’re security is guaranteed by them. So it’s a win-win situation. You pay exactly the same but we make a small commission for providing the means to find what you are looking for and, hopefully, other information that you may find interesting and useful.

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Feeding stations can be set up with food to attract different species. For example finches feed on small thistle seeds and specially designed bird feeders that allow the finches to feed easily can be purchased. Tube feeders keep the seeds dry and prevent spillage. You could also use a window feeder so that you can watch the birds from inside your home.

Speciality feeders can be bought to attract hummingbirds, goldfinches and woodpeckers. Place in a safe place close to your bird house to attract the birds. Whichever type of feeder you use be sure to check it regularly to endure the food is dry and free from mold and clean up any spilled food around the feeder regularly to deter ants and wasps and other predators.

Provide water in the form of water pans or bird baths which also provide a safe place for the birds to clean their feathers and preen. Provide water at various levels as some birds will prefer water at ground level, others prefer water in containers above the ground. Only fill containers to a few inches and place containers away from bird feeders as birds like quiet places to bathe and preen. The sound of running water will attract the birds and a you could use a water dripper on your bird bath to attract the birds and also deter mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water.

Providing a natural looking environment in your garden will enhance the sense of security for the birds and leaving an area to grow naturally with wild flowers and trees will provide an attractive place for the wild birds.

Image by Heavenhated

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Keep your wild birds safe by keeping away predators such as squirrels, raccoons, snakes, cats, wasps, ants, yellow jackets and invasive birds. Here are some guidelines to help you do this.

Perches

Do not have perches on your bird house. A perch by the entrance hole is not needed by the wild birds but will allow other predators to gain entrance. If you buy a bird house with a perch remove it.

Baffles

If your bird house is mounted on a pole use a metal baffle to prevent animals climbing up to the bird house. Some baffles can also be used on tree trunks. Do not use plastic baffles as they do not stand up to chewing.

Metal plates

Metal plates with a small entrance hole can be attached to a bird house to prevent squirrels, raccoons etc from enlarging the hole and getting into the bird house or grabbing baby birds.

Entrance Hole

Use a bird house with an entrance ole no larger than needed for the wild birds you want to attract. A larger hole allows starlings and sparrows entrance and they will take over the box and eject the nesting birds.

Ants Nests

Check around the bird house for signs of ants nests and deal with them before they start to invade the bird house. Make sure you use a method that is not toxic to the wild birds.

Metal Poles

If your bird house is to be mounted on a metal pole a large PVC pipe slipped over the pole can deter snakes, squirrels and raccoons from climbing it. If you still have problems from these invaders smear some vegetable oil on it.

Cats

If you have a cat fit it with a collar with a bell to warn the birds!

Image by joshme17

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Before you buy a bird house for your garden you want to be sure it not only looks good but provides a safe home for wild birds to rest and to nest. Check out our ten tips below and be sure that the bird house you buy is appropriate for the wild birds you would like to attract to your garden.

1. No Perches

Birds nest boxes do not need perches. In the wild birds that nest in holes in trees do not use perches so your bird house does not need them.

2. Size of Entrance Hole

An entrance holes should be between 1″ and 1 1/2″ in diameter. A larger hole will allow invasive species such as starlings into the bird house.

3. Dimensions of the Floor

The inside of the bird box should be at least 4″ by 4″ to allow room for young birds to develop.

4. Height of the Box

There should be at least 5″ between the floor and the entrance hole to keep predators from the box and to prevent the young from falling out of the hole.

5. Ventilation Holes

Bird boxes can get very hot in the summer months especially if they have metal roofs so there must be ventilation holes or slits to allow air circulation

6. Accessibility

There should be a flap to open the box enough to be able to clean it out at the end of the season.

7. Holes for Drainage

Holes in the bottom of the box are essential to allow any rain water to run out.

8. Attachments

Either a hook on the top for hanging or a way to attach the bird box to a post or tree must be provided

9. Material

Wood is the best choice of material for a bird box as it provides insulation in winter and keeps cool in the summer. Purple martin bird houses are the exception to this as they are usually made from metal.

10 Overhanging Roof

A overhanging roof is a good idea as it provides shade for the entrance hole and helps tp keep the rain out.

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DIY Guide to building a birdhouse. This easy to make bird box can be built in 1 day out of one 6 foot long 1″ by 6″ plank of cedar. Attract more wild birds into your garden (or provide for those already there). www.self-sufficient-life.com

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The building of a Bluebird house.

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